2016 DockDogs Road to World Championships Qualifying Criteria

The following is a detailed breakdown of how teams can qualify for an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships.   All final invitations are dependent upon the team’s participation during the 2016 season at either (2) National DockDogs® events, OR (1) National and (1) Club Event (within the discipline you are invited for) on or before October 17^th; and the team must hold an Active 2016 DockDogs® Worldwide membership in order to be considered for an invitation.

Invitations for teams are determined based on the following headings in the order that they appear below:

1. Scheels Series

In order to be considered for the Scheels Series you must have attended a minimum of (2) of the 2016 Scheels Series events (separate event locations).

Upon completion of the above noted requirements the top ranked team (1) within each Division of each Discipline (Big Air; Speed Retrieve; Extreme Vertical & Iron Dog) will receive an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships.  This includes the Specialty Divisions (Youth Handler; Lap Dog; Veteran Dog; Legend Dog).

Rankings are based on a team’s best two qualifying scores within each discipline of all 2016 Scheels Series events they have attended (i.e. there will be individual rankings for one top score per event for Big Air, Speed Retrieve, Extreme Vertical & Iron Dog). Please note that only the 2 best qualifying scores of all 2016 Scheels Series events will be considered for this ranking, and not all jumps from each event.

 

2. 2016 DockDogs^® Regional Championship Events

The top (4) finalists within each Division of each Discipline (Big Air, Speed Retrieve; Extreme Vertical & Iron Dog) at each of the 2016 DockDogs® Regional Championship events will receive an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships.  This includes the Specialty Divisions (Youth Handler; Lap Dog; Veteran Dog; Legend Dog). For Regional Championships only, if a team within the top 4 in a Divisional Final has a Finals score above its titled division, they will receive an Invitation to Worlds within their titled division (please note V. in the Important Additional World Championship information regarding possible re-assignment prior to Worlds). In addition, the next qualifying team from that Divisional Final (5^th Place in the Finals) will also receive an invitation in that division provided the team did not jump out of its division. This means that a maximum of 6 teams could possibly receive a World invitation. Example: in the Senior Division, the top 4 teams from the Finals would automatically receive a World

invite within their division. The 1^st and 2^nd place finishers from the Finals have scores in the Master Division. Therefore, the 5^th and 6^th place teams from the Senior Finals would also receive a World invite, unless those teams also jumped out of their division in Finals.

New this year also we will be including three (3) qualifying Big Air waves at each Regional Championship for non-titled teams. The top six (6) teams overall from those qualifying waves will be in the Non-Titled Team Finals at the end of day on Sunday, with the top team from those Finals receiving a World invite.

Note: Prior to the start of each 2016 DockDogs® Regional Championship event, all teams registered to compete will be cross referenced and potentially re-assigned to their Competition Divisions to reflect their current ability.  This will be based on the highest of the following:

1. Title: Current National Title (Club title looked at in the absence of a National title)
2. Ranking: Overall Worldwide ranking within the Discipline

This year we will have 7 Regional Championships held at selected events.

• South West – Hanford Fair, Hanford, CA (6/10-6/12, 2016)
• Central Mid West – Dog Days Canine Cannonball, Osage Beach, MO (6/17-6/19, 2016)
• Canadian – K9 Central, Bowmanville, ON, Canada (7/1-7/3, 2016)
• North Central – Tin Woof Inn, Ashland, KY (7/1-7/3, 2016)
• North East – Klems DockDogs Days, Spencer, MA (7/22-7/24, 2016)
• Mid West – Winnebago Fair, Oshkosh, WI (8/5-8/8, 2016)
• North West – NW Washington Fair, Lynden, WA (8/18-8/20, 2016)

3. Wild Card Event(s)

The Wild Card event(s) will consist of one or more events selected by DockDogs® Worldwide and the top (1) Ranked team within each division of each discipline (Big Air; Speed Retrieve; Extreme Vertical & Iron Dog) based on event rankings, will receive an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships.  Event Rankings for Wild Card Events will be based on an average of all qualifying Waves & Finals scores.  This includes the Specialty Divisions (Youth Handler, Lap Dog, Veteran Dog, Legend Dog).

Note: Australia and Canada will each have one designated Wildcard event in the 2016 season.

 

4. Nationally Sanctioned Facility Event Series

In order to be considered for the Sanctioned Facility Event Series you must have attended a minimum of (2) of the 2016 Nationally Sanctioned Facility Event Series events. Facility Event Rankings will be based on Country Specific locations including USA/Canada/Australia.

Upon completion of the above noted requirements the top (2) ranked teams within each Division of each Discipline (Big Air; Speed Retrieve; Extreme Vertical & Iron Dog) will receive an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships.  This includes the Specialty Divisions (Youth Handler, Lap Dog, Veteran Dog, Legend Dog).

Rankings are based on a team’s best two qualifying scores within each discipline of all 2016 Nationally Sanctioned Facility events they have attended in their country, (i.e. there will be individual rankings for one top score per event for Big Air, Speed Retrieve, Extreme Vertical & Iron Dog).  Please note that only the 2 best qualifying scores of all 2016 Nationally Sanctioned Facility events will be considered for this ranking and not all jumps from each event.

 

5. Year End Rankings

Overall by Country

Overall Rankings by Country take into consideration a team’s (5) best jumps (including Finals) within Big Air, and the (3) best scores within Speed Retrieve, Extreme Vertical and Iron Dog to date for National caliber events within a Country. The top (2) ranked teams within each Division in each Discipline (including Specialty Divisions) will receive an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships. Country specific invites will be based on specific Countries including USA/Canada/Australia/ Netherlands/Italy.

Note: If a team were ranked within the parameters of a division higher than which they are titled, they would not be considered for a Rankings invitation based on their titled division; however they could potentially qualify for an invite for the higher division within which they are ranked.

Overall Worldwide

Overall Rankings take into consideration a team’s (5) best scores (including Finals) within Big Air, and the team’s (3) best scores within Speed Retrieve, Extreme Vertical and Iron Dog to date. The top (2) ranked teams within each Division in each Discipline (including Specialty Divisions) will receive an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships.  (If a team were ranked within the parameters of a division higher than which they are titled, they would not be considered for a Rankings invitation based on their titled division; however they could potentially qualify for an invite for the higher division within which they are ranked.)

IMPORTANT – Additional World Championships qualifying & competition information

1. An invitation will be passed down to the “Next Qualified Team” in the instance that the original Qualifying Team does not accept their invitation for that specific qualifying avenue.
2. If a team turns down an invite, they will not have the opportunity to qualify for an invite within that division through another qualifying avenue. However, a team could qualify for an invite within a higher division than the original “declined” invitation.

• If a Youth Handler competes and earns an invitation to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships within the Youth Handler division, and they turn 16 years of age prior to the start of the World Championships, they will still compete as a Youth Handler at the World Championship event.

1. In the case of Specialty Class Invitations (Youth Handler, Lap Dog, Veteran Dog, Legend Dog):
   1. If a Youth Handler qualifies with multiple dogs for multiple invitations to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships for the Big Air Youth Handler Division, they may only accept one invitation (their qualifying team of choice).  Youth handlers may still accept additional invitations for regular Big Air Divisions. (ie.: Novice, Junior, Senior, Master, Elite & Super Elite)
   2. If a Dog qualifies with multiple handlers for multiple invitations to the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships for the following Big Air specialty division, (Lap Dog, Veteran Dog, Legend Dog), they may only accept one invitation per Specialty Class with their qualifying team of choice. Any entry fees previously paid will follow the dog.   The teams may still accept additional invitations for regular Big Air Divisions. (ie.: Novice, Junior, Senior, Master, Elite & Super Elite)
2. Prior to the start of the 2016 DockDogs® World Championships, all teams competing will be cross referenced and potentially re-assigned to a higher Competition Division based on their current ability. This will be based on the highest of the following (regardless of the Division in which they earned & accepted their invitation):
   1. Title: Current National title
   2. The Worldwide ranking (which is an average of the highest 5 scores for a team) plus the Performance rankings (average of all scores from that avenue of qualification) ie: Regional Championship, the average of all scores from that discipline including any Finals scores will be averaged and if higher than the current title or the original invitation, the team will be reassigned to that division.
3. Once all invitations have gone out for Year End Rankings, (2) additional Overall Worldwide based rankings invites will be issued to any divisions not having the full complement of invitations.

• Teams will not “Jump Out” of their competition division for the purposes of Finals selection. (ie.: if a Team competing in the Senior Division jumps a Master jump in Qualifying, the Team will remain in the Senior Division & potentially compete in the Senior finals).